Dr Wayne Cottrell

Updated 12 November 2019

Updated 12 November 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Wayne Cottrell on 25 September 2019. CQC previously inspected the service on 2 August 2018 and asked the provider to make improvements namely:

• Review the level of oversight of and access to health and safety risk assessments for the premises.
• Review the process for documenting fire evacuation drills.
• Review the process for documenting the cleaning of medical equipment, such as the ear irrigator.
• Review training requirements and updates for clinicians in relation to consent and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Review the necessity for interpretation services for patients whose first language is not English.

We checked these areas as part of this comprehensive inspection and found these issues had been addressed.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some general exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Dr Wayne Cottrell some services are provided to patients under arrangements made by their employer or an insurance provider with whom the patient holds an insurance policy (other than a standard health insurance policy). These types of arrangements are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore, at Dr Wayne Cottrell, we were only able to inspect the services which are not arranged for patients by their employers or an insurance provider with whom the patient holds a policy (other than a standard health insurance policy).

The Provider is subject to a condition of registration to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The provider did not have a registered manager at the time of the inspection. The provider had notified the Care Quality Commission of the absence of the registered manager. The Care Quality Commission had received an application from an individual to become the registered manager at the provider and was processing this.

We also asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by patients prior to our inspection. We received 68 comment cards. All the comments were positive. The comments emphasised the convenience of the service. It was easy to get appointments; the on-line booking system was easy to use. Patients spent little time waiting to be seen. The staff were good listeners, were caring and professional.

Our key findings were:

• The care provided was safe. There were systems for reporting, investigating and learning from incidents. The provider was trained to the correct level in safeguarding and had made safeguarding referrals when appropriate.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• There was an efficient and effective service for patients’ tests with almost all tests completed on the same day.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• There was effective leadership and staff expressed satisfaction about the work. There was a low staff turnover.

We saw the following outstanding practice:

• All patients could specify how and when they wanted the practice to communicate with them. The practice systems were set up to accommodate this. This service was of particular importance to those attending the practice for sexual health appointments.
• The practice offered anal Papanicolaou smear testing particularly for men who have sex with men. This test is an effective screening tool for anal cancer. The service is not generally available at other GP practices.